Vapor barrier paper and the manufacture thereof



Patenteti Sept. 25, 1951 v-Apoli BARRIER PAPER AND THE "MANUFACTURE THEREOF r :G qr e A hur med,rw au x a d-EPW- Nomawine'. Application Aprilxll, 1951,

' SGI AI NO. 220,5 2;

a c (01. nrlss This, i vention elate Q a or r e Pa er" xterw ve us rii a rly e e w ih. 51

qn tr q iqx Q buildin s the r e- Pile-P mining mois uremn am d e-1 Q er in the inferior of a bgil q rig from reach ng 'e1e.- me tao he ex er qrml i th buil g whi in cqid weq t le glre jn'elow the dew pdin-t 01 the a m qspt ere-ip tigejnt ref the building.

orderto preig en eet losse s from buildings b qn a h ated in c ld W at er it a' f 'een ei mpn practice snegial y in eQenwwo 1 insj-iletiri material i ri'thelexrthergqfl'or in ceilings v building, iheii', are sup,- t em- 51?- fil n hfi me s 1 wn 311) he rm, 9i,.PQI mas ew br u mauph asv fi qwmne al a. 1 9k 70 er Q F e ike; r eni hmafi fismaigb pmvid d i th orm rmqd -P (Ir-et e rpre qrm bo ie k 0 1 4 e iie iinenruntv m d ndit on as by V -W 1 er1 si1e1 i,therma1 insulatiorijis pemoisjure .iflfihatmosphere in the ildir g readily penetrateathrqugh h ef h well ceilings, n

meme:

mi e lire ehmhe'itherma in u t dn; e dwhen m is ureqonrten Q a V wcold surfaces 'to vbe in qi t jat, e s r ace.1 mp.erar H clur e c nd ns d moi ivesrise Q numerou ir ult u i s xieiiei'igrating efieet (in wood or metaistructural m bers -prqduetior of dempr spoiqyron' the ir1 terror walls ete, Mqreover, thepresenqeof con.- Qenggte in .the -ther;na1 insulation geriously d8:- wt fmmit iherma in ul i an b n h re u e d e o at on esp cialwhen :the iefiel t on s eqyipo Q! or ta ga c nbe srp o. in a o an in reher a e c nt 7 i nes-oi at maln u i u h are, 99170115; or cellular; glass blocks .or porous or team-flake bodi s f; nlae i ma e al wh r 1685 readily penetrated b .mq m r a Q QPWQQ with fibrous thermal insulation mat e rigls, spqh; -thermal insulation emafcerials are, cqnsiderghly more ,costlyandvldemot prevent ;mpisi;ure from travelling-around the edgesithereof, or through the studding.qr athroughmghe avenuesmith resultant v-difficulties,.=c1ue ztoecondensa tion.

order -torovercomethe difficulties ahovesmgnrtionedmthene rhas' been.=extensiye use of .vap rr 1 mm paper, .purtieularly in conj ungbiqn with;

the employment o f thermal heat insulation in u l in he' apQra i -mpe is1 os o i d bfepwen the isherrfial' iii's'ulgtidri and .the interigr 0; the: building '80 thaiflit 'will not. fall below the dew'pbint of theflatnipsrpk ere in the interiOI 0f the biiildir g: while ,rewieniing passage of mois;

W @throjlghlthjhfirmal heal? cfQ iId p de se in ldi r e -planer a 98. 119- plied separate1-y,"e. g; Qtheiprn; 0i rolls for application'asiby. naili ttp jihe interior of the d ii g o f xte aner undern a hth joists. of a' reef/ r ceiling] e'rnaji'ely the vapci k i imm n-may 5.6 an tegra Ra t-O at own r-we 11 'r ther l e t latibn s rjseM dh sive; I atte ca s elthe vapor-barrier an 1: is generally made to extend somewl ei t ,f "site side s bffthe, a or r rmed hql xki xd9{secureImam 119 studdingqr jqisit's,

T e pm i SiQ .q alarmrr e ape reen on i c ibleg iifip lt p xe sa mmthe mint: of view Of providing adequate} permeability to g ture, for mQiS Tre-in, the atinqsphrere has remarkable facility for permeating through a body or sheet "when, the relative humidity on p i e s dew he h0 1 r ee l h iaz iti ly r ntt, i fil hl rrt fi m hai he mos iensively $1 5, 1 wee ar r Pan c n ist QI v i- P p tu h 5 Drama; kt it ainer whiqh' has been thoigpughly'ijn feg i ariged with, paraffin i. Q i ith? .0% ing of asp al hit gem: i; has a t ning. t mpregnat n w th. 5 1F13 91 1 M I ermea il y; 91 e asp a in 12:! men W ile p o d em id r ble m ure mpermea l iy is n t umi t il lf t pre ii su cie m re n w lati n P0-Q se iw .q e at qn rz b ms' n; buildings. fact the primarily fer the e ensiveih rmpplaei e e aiiesi paper adheren f therma inv nl weather. 'Ihei'vaper whi elmiil meabil t I masse ample, it is very easily ignited and once ignited the paper is extremely susceptible to rapid spread of flame upwardly with the result that if a zone of combustion shouldstart adjacent the base of a wall, the vapor-barrier paper burns very rapidly and it requires only a'few moment's time for the flame to travel to the eaves. This greatly increases the fire hazard in many types of building construction.

It is an object of this invention to provide vapor-barrier paper which while exhibiting extremely low permeability to vapor also has extremely high resistance to combustion and spread of flame.

The aforesaid object of this invention has been 4 silicate to bitumen by dry weight varies froni about 7:3 to about 2:3, and preferably is between about 713 and about 4:3. The ratio by dry weight of the humectant to the alkali metal sili date is ordinarilfbetween about 1:15 and about 1: 1 and is preferably between about 1:5 and 1:2.

The softening point of the bitumen that is em- I ployed should be appropriate for dispersion of the 160 F.'; and for this reason the'softening point t of the bitumen that is employed in the practice successfully attained by providing a coating for paper which contains a substantial amount of a humectant in combination with bitumen and with a water soluble alkali metal silicate. Bituafforded. It is one of the principal features of this invention that this difficulty was successfully overcomeby incorporating in the coating as applied, a humectant material, e. g., glycerine. The fact that a highly effective vapor-barrier could be afforded utilizing a coating'material containing a substantial amount of a humectantwhich tends to absorb moisture from the air was surprising for one would normally expect that the presence of the humectant would promote moisture permeability. However, as the tests mentioned below demonstrate, the contrary fact was found to be the case. The humectant appears to have the effect of preventing the occurrence of flaws, minute cracks and the like which otherwise tend to occuror develop in the coating, and,

while having some tendency to attract moisture from atmosphere, it tends to hold any moisture portions of bitumen, alkali metal silicate and humectant should be within critical limits. The base of the coating that is applied to the paper consists of the bitumen and alkali metal silicate which in combination constitute from about 70% to about 95% by dry weight of coating and preferably about 80% to about 90% by dry weight of the coating. The humectant that is employed constitutes about 5% to about 30% by dry weight of the coating and preferably constitutes about 10% to about by dry weight of the coating. In the base which consists of the bitumen and alkali metal silicate the bitumen may vary from about 30% to about 60% by dry weight of the base while the alkali metal silicate may vary from about 40% to about 70% by dry weight of the base-In other words, the ratio of alkali-metal of this invention is correspondingly limited. On the other hand, the bitumen should not have a softening point below about F. Preferably the bitumen that is employed according to this invention has a softening point of the order F. to F. The softening point that is referred to is the softening point as determined by the standard ring and ball softenin point test.* The bitumen that is employed ordinarily isan' asphalt such as that derived from the refining of Mid-Continent crudes, although other asphalts are suitable, e. g., asphalts derived from Mexican,

Venezuelan or Colombian crudes. In addition to asphalts, other bitumens such as pitches, coal tar and the like may be employed in the practice of this invention. Moreover, a modifier, e. g., of a resinous or oily character that may be mixed: with the bitumen is to be regarded as part of the bitumen. Selection of bitumen having relative ly high ductility is normally preferred such as a'sphaltic residua from Mid-Continent crudes. v The alkali metal silicate that is employed is water-solublcalkali metal silicate, namely, either sodium silicate or potassium silicate or'a mixture thereof, although sodium silicate is generally employed due to its lower cost. In order to afford satisfactory fire resistive properties the ratio of; Si02 to alkali metal oxide should be at least 1.6:1'.

The upper limit of the ratio of Slog to alkali metal oxide may be whatever is consistent with formation of a water solution of the alkali metal silicate. Thus in the case of sodium silicate the" ratio of SiOz to NazO may beincreased to about 4:1, but the SiOz tends to precipitate out if the ratio of S102 to NazO exceeds about 4:1. Similarly'in the case of potassium silicate S102 tends to precipitate out if the ratio of S102 to-KaOf exceeds about 3:1. For mixtures of sodium and potassium silicates; the S102 tends to precipitate out between the ratio of 4:1 in the case of pure sodium silicate and the ratio of 3:1 in the case of pure potassium silicate in a roughly proportional relation between these ratio values. More generally the ratio of SiOz to alkali metal oxide in the alkali metal silicate that is employed according to this invention is of the rangefrom produced in the form of an emulsion in an aque-- ous medium, the bitumen and alkali metal sili-- cate being in the proper relative proportions by dry weight desired in the coating. In usual practice an aqueous-bituminous. emulsion is first prepared and the aqueous'bituminous emulsion-is then mixed with: the silicate solution. However,

ziee might alternatively. eemulsify; the; min m acditihedorthe aspen It s.- .oifi u e. directly: in the silicate solution, Tuepitumineus hatqthehumeetant.sel c ed h 3. 11 9 EQQ emulsion in theaq'ueous alkali: metal silicate Re at ons; thesilioate or breakin .oithe H112 solution may containmwhateven proportion. tuminous emulsion. In this connectignit jewel; water to non-volatile constituents ;is-.-reg-erd des A known that. the silica contained alkali-metal appropriate for. application purposes .ionnrod silicatesclutiontisl.main ainedzindissuli ed. an ing a coating of desired thickness Usuanyt. tiomdue to'the alkalinr snt andthata proportionof water is of. .theorder \of;p!=0.%; stantial reaction-"of an as 1 651%, and it has ..been,found....to vairord; good DEEP-1 alkaliin. analkeli metal H atm consistency.when..theipropnrtion.oaitwateg 1c in precipitation.thesilicaak t. the. emulsified bitumen-silicate-solutionjs .of; ;the sil ca l:- Thisi the nrinqi amwe e order of 45% .to 60%. The emulsificatioaof the co n ction. with the s lectio of the ha at bitumen can beaccomplishedinanyeofaimimber employed fQ them a e lrta of known Ways for preparing hitumimushemula asw.-calc um.. hlqride wh ch sions. Usually an emulsifyingagfilltis employed; is pronounc dhumect n n t Eento'nite clay is a suitable emulsifying .agnt reactiveangiservetoprefi and has the advantage ofbeingibflth inexpensiye soluble. s l c te solut and-highly efiectiye; soapilikewisejis veryfifiefie tive well. as inexpensive. fitheraemulaifafim' agents also may be employed such as casein. 2o blood, triethanolamine, rosin .soaps. .sulphonated. oils, soaps of sulphonatedsoils, naphthenic acid; soaps, etc. Some bitumenscontain a maH.-:DIID.1. portion of complex acidic constituents. whichare .J reactive with the alkali in an alkalimetel silicate, 2:, l g R to form soapor a soap-likesuhstance .mhichisi effective as an emulsifying agent for ethe -blimp men. In any event the.emulsifyingv .agentzr-that 2 nih llii ii is present merely serves the temporarypurpofi lltfi il of obtaining the bitumen in emulsifiew-i'olfmso 3 that it; may be blended homogeneously with the silicate solution for application to the surface; ofeapaper sheet by a suitable ,coating.operation. By way of example, when bentonite clay used; asian emulsifying agent; about 4% .on the weight; of the bitumen is usually suflicient to obtain a satisfactory bituminous emulsion. In the dried coating the bentonite clay in such.- case is present in an amount varying from about 1% about 2.5% of the dry weight of the coating but is not a significant factor; in thefinishednooatedx paper either in afiording impermeability'to mois ture or in affording high fire resistive properties. Somewhat more generally the bitumen, alkali metal silicate and the humectant in the relative 45. proportions above mentioned are thebasicdn gredients of the fire resistive vapor-barrier coat;- ing although a small proportion of amaterlal such as emulsifying agent or somediluent: ore g tendersuch as very finely divided clayor ,ta-l v or other finely divided filler may be present- I t g, imv f-theam in shydr w ght preferably in amounts less than about 10%; My; i Edu qal I IQ QWPL ntame Hin dry weight of the coating. 999 a d he f r i limi at ns asi sa ds- The humectant that is employed according tot. et y .eyftentl i i a do. not .c ntrih ta istiv smil 0 :h! m9tall in e coating re equa y this invention is incorporated intheernulsion Y 1 31 the hume ten wmmneat prior to its application to paperas a5 coatingso; t n .QQ31$. ,-S ;Qf on ehumect n 01' 3 1 1113 that the humectant will bedistributedmniierml hume tants. V throughout the material of the applied cpgt i fig he paperto which'the coatingvis appliedp ay. The humectant is freely soluble in the. aqueous nape base of the emulsion. It may be incor orate p s ,,e1 atively inezgn any way that is convenient. s ve and ;hasre1,a ive1y gh strength appr'op'riatte. added to the bituminous emulsi v v for -handling and application in the. walls, tuminous emulsion is blended with the-s catg bu dies a ta .u. rier.- Qt er-paQrs solution o it may be incorporated initially i th lil w sabe emp oy a 3 aners derived r in si i solution A el h hum e t h $:5! 9h1@ .h? 111 .35 'Q ?e1'lQ9 may be incorporated after-thebitumenr-has been p i t M QE LfibSIS'SHC -fl. asbest stfib caused to occur in emulsizedcondition ,in the lso;be-,- employed butsllicate solution. Humectants such as glyceri e ethylene glycol and propylene glycol are especi l.- ly...suitable for use according to-this invention. 110.

These humectants are highly efiectiye .to afiord the improvements of thisinventionasincorporated in the finished coating. MoreQyer,,- these humectantsdo notexerciseanyaadvers ct w the emulsion-prior to its; anplieati aetot-fnreritla i i 1 0.010 inch;- A limit paper-about 6.005 inch in thickness is very well suited to afford a-"fire re sistive vapor-barrier when coated according to. thisinvention." I vi i In producing the fire resistive vapor-barrier paper of this invention-all that is required is the application of the emulsion of bitumen'in alkali metal silicatesolution containing the dissolved" humectant to one or both surfaces of the ,paperso as to produce a coating of substantial thickness. In the usual case the emulsion is applied so that the non-volatile constituents of the emulsion constitute from about 2 to about pounds per 100 square feet of area'coated. When a relatively heavy paper is employed the non--. volatile constituents applied to provide the coat-- Ling may be somewhat in excess of 10 pounds per .100 square feet of area coated. The'emulsion may be applied in any suitable way, there being several types of suitable coating equipment which are well known and which may be used. For example, the emulsion may be brought into contact with the paper andthen spread to' desired thickness by use of spreading rolls, a doctor blade, brushing or other conventional spreading means. Thereafter the coating is merely dried either at ordinary temperatures or when mildly heated as by passing the paper over heateddrying rolls.

It is' usually desirable in the production of the'fire resistive vapor-barrier paper according to this invention to dust on the'surface of the applied emulsion coating before the coating has lost its tackiness a dusting of anti-stick material such as fine mica, talc, or the like although 'this is not essential to obtaining either moisture-ir'nperviousness or fire resistiveness. The amount of dusting material employed may be of the order of about 0.5 to about 1.5 pound per 100 square feet of area as applied to the surface-of aco'at ing. Application of a dusting powder consisting of about 95% fine mica and about 5% of aluminum powder has been found to be highlydesirable when applied to the surface of-a coating at the rate of about 1 pound per 100 square feet of area; This provides an attractive finish, and the aluminum powder possesses considerable heat reflecting properties which impart some thermalheat insulating effectiveness to the coated fire resistive vapor-barrier jpaper.

When the fire resistive vapor barrier paper of this invention is intended for separate use, namely, not as an integral surfacing of aweformed body of thermal heat insulation material, it is usually desirable, although not essential, to employ the fire resistive vapor-barrier coating on both sur'faces'of the paper. Moreover, the coating on each side of the paper can be dusted with the'finely-divided anti-stick material. In such case the paper can be produced in convenientwidths, e. g., 36 inches, andmade ;up into rolls of any predetermined sheet length. I When the fire resistive vapor-barrier paper ofinvention is made adherent toabody of :thermal heat insulation material, then it is -;usually desirable to apply the special fire resistive vapor-barrier coating to one side only of ;the paper. The surface of this coating can be ,dusted with anti-stick material if it is regarded :as desirable to do so. For bonding the coated gpaper to a body of thermal he'atinsulation ma :terial, the surface opposite to the surface carry'- 5mg the special coating may be provided with :a conventional asphalt coating, e. g., a coating i-of asphalt having a softening point of about 220- .I. applied at tli rate-of about three -to-'- about a: small amount of resistiveness, may be 8 V 11y ..-p6unds"'per"100 squarefeet of. area. This coating may be applied in a heat liquefied com.

dition." The coating is such that if a body of thermal heat insulation material, e. g., a bat: of rock wool, is-brought into contact with the. asphalt coating while the coating is heated-so that it istacky and sticky, the coated paper will adhere to the body of thermal heat insulartion as a permanent surfacing therefor. The body of thermal heat insulation may be made adherent to the asphalt coating immediatelyafter the asphalt-coating is applied and while it is still-tacky and adhesive, or the asphalt coating after having cooled may be reheated to make it tackyand adhesive. In such products, as men'. tioned above, it is the usual practice to have the vapor-barrier paper extend beyond opposite margins of the thermal insulation to which it is made adherent. the thermal'insulation maybe in the form 'of a rock wool bat which comprises binder to give it coherence and which may be'15 inches wide by 24 or-48 inches long. The vapor-barrier paper having an overall width of 17% inches is made adherent of one surface of the bat and folded flaps 1% inches in width protrude from each side. At the time'of use these flaps are unfolded and can :be nailed to studding between which the bats are inserted. --The fire resistive properties of the special coating are due primarily to its composition as -ap-. plied overlying the paper sheet to which it is applied However, it may be mentioned thatiduring the application of the emulsion of bitumen in alkali metal silicate solution containing the humectant, there is some penetration of the. alkali metal silicate into the body of the paper. This servesto considerably reduce the infl'am-= mability of the paper, but, as mentioned above, this is"not an' essential factor in obtainingthe high fire resistive properties of the coated paper considering the coated paper as a whole. In order to'render the paper itself still more in-:' combustible one can, if "it is considered desir able to' do so, impregnate thepaper with alkali metal silicate solution preliminarily and before; the vapor-barrier coating is applied. This has the eifectpf increasing the proportion of dried alkali metal silicate in the body of the paper. However, in normal practice the preliminary impregnation of the paper with alkali metal silicatesolution is not'resorted to for it contributesonly slightly to the fire resistiveness of the-paper; and from a manufacturing point of view is somewhat'undesirable since it slows up the drying or the vapor-barrier coating that is subsequently applied. It would also be possible to preliminaril-ytreat the paper to which the Vapor-barrier coating isapplied with some flame retarding material, such as ammonium sulfamite, boraxfon a soluble phosphate. However, this is ordinarily not done since the fire resistiveness of the coated paper as a whole is increased only slightly by so doing and the addition of such material adds considerably to the cost of the paper. In this connection, it may be mentioned that the'incorporation of flame retarding substances such as those above mentioned in paper which is coated with a conventional asphalt coating is wholly ineffective to afford fire resistive proper. ties due to the infiammability of the coating? The practice of this invention, as well as its effectiveness in affording a high degree of moisture' irnperviousness' and a high degreeof firel illustrated in connection surface of t .9 with. the followingdescription of. a. specific. example o -tl'iefpiiactice.'oi-.1 this. invention;

fBlTowih'gl analysis:

The silicate solutiom that was Y employed was cbirv'entiona-l sodiunr silicate solution of approximtely 42 B (containing; about 60'%"water) the ratio of S102 to NazO being substanti'ally 3 .2: 1'.

- Glycerine Wasrused asthe'humectant, and was added 'to" the""b'itufminous emulsiom before the bitmninous" emulsion-"was "commingled with the sodium silicate solutidh.

The above mentionedmaterials-z were commingled-' in the following--proportionss p g H Prcer'it' Sodium silicate solution" A' sphalt emulsion 2347 L' I to-form an'emulsion formula'containing I 1 Per cent Water 53-.5

Asphalt silicate B entoniteclay 'Formulo 'If r. r, g Per cent Sodium silicate? solution 45 .0 Asphalt emulsion 45p GIycerin'e 10.0 toiofm arr emulsion-containrng H Y Per cent Asphalt Sodium-silicate -1'1.s

'Behtoniteclay 1.0

/ i Tk p p substantially 6.005 inch mmeatless (we-"h ng substantially de rer iibiyi n iMJ h llllded mica aria] of powdered aluminum. The finished pa er weiig'hii Substantially 9 pounds per 100 square feet.

"One sideonlyof the paper, sheet was coated with thespecialemulsion'of Formula I so as to aflord-ga coating-=which when dry weighed 2.6 poundsper 100 square rector area n t race of the coatingwas dusted at the rate of one pound per 100 square ,feet of area with the same dusting+materia1 employed in the prepa a- 'rnebituminous". emulsion" employed'had the il i ram pairwise" n H) tionof ExampleI. The opposite surface of the paper was coated with asphalt having, ajsoftenr ing point of about 220 F. by applying the asphalt ina heat'liquefied condition at the; rate of substantially 3.7 pounds per, 100 squareieet." No dusting was applied tothe. surface of' thei asphalt coating. The finished paper'we'i'ghed' substantially 9 poundsper lflflsquare feet.

The moisture permeabilit of the paper ofEx; amples I and II was tested using the O'fll'ciiil Standard- TAilmdiof the. Technical Association Paper and 'P'ulp malady which corresponds with the A. S. T. M. Designation D 783-44T for Tensative Method of Test for Water Vapor Permeability of Paper and Paper Board. According to this test, a speciman ofthe-paper is'pl'aced over the top: of a container so. as to provide a given area. Thecontainer holds. a desiccant, and an atmosphere of controlled percent humidity at. 73 F. is maintained on the other side of the paper to be tested. In carrying out the test, .the co n tainer is inverted so that the desiccant isin direct contaetwith the paper. During the test, the gain in weight, which is due to moisture passing through the paper, is measured atv stated intervals, and the rate of moisture passage is -computed and is expressed in terms of grains per square foot per hour for the given conditions of humidity orvapor'pres'sure of the atmosphere on the exterior of the" container.

The paper of Examples I and II were tested I As Pre- After Agpared ingr Example I 0. 7 0.16 Example II .l 0.3? 0.16 Conventional vapor barrier paper 0. 65 2.

Ac'cordihgto theA; S. T. MI standard for vapor barriers approved January 21, 1947 (as yet unpublished), the maximum permissible vapor perm'eability for an effective vapor barrier is 2'.5 grains per square" foot per hour at one inch of mercury vapor pressure. It is apparent that the vapor barrier paper of Examples I and II was well within this maximum value. Moreover, it is significant that-after aging, the vapor barrier effectiveness of'the vapor barrier paper embodyingfthis invention became considerably better and attained'an extremely low figure. The sample of conventional vapor barrier paper exhibited-good vapor barrier effectiveness as originally made up, but its effectiveness diminished on aging and after 8 weeks did not meet the A. S. T. M. standard. v f *1 The fire resistiveness of'the vapor barrier paper of Examples .Iand II was tested at Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. of Chicago, Illinois, utilizing the test equipment and procedure for determining the Fire Hazard Classification of Building Materials which areset forth in the Bulletin of Research ofthis organization No. 32, as published September 1944. Some of the'elements involved in this test include the placing of the material to be tested so as to constitute the roof of a tunnel 11 inches high, 17 inches wide and 25 feet long. A gas flame from a burner extends along about 5.5 feet of the sample at one end of the tunnel and an air current of 200 feet per minute is caused to move through the tunnel from the burner end toward, and out of,,the other end. The rate of s pr'ead oi flame, the fuel combustion ofrthe material tested, and the smoke production are noted by appropriate recordings' during the test which is usually discontinued minutes after first flame application. As a scale fofindicating relative performance, asbestos'cem ent' is taken as zero andred oak as 100 for each of the determinations made. In the tests as conducted, the paper of Example I was separately applied over a base of rock wool bats. The paper of Example II was bonded to the rock wool bats by the asphalt coating. The rock wool bats were also tested without the vapor barrier pa er covering them. These rock wool bats consisted of rock Wool containing a small amount of binder averaging about 2.04% on ether extraction. The ratings" obtained were as follows:

Rock Wool Example Example Bats I II Alone Flamespread 20 to 30 30 to 40 30 to 40 Fuel consume 10 to 20 to 25 15 to 25 Smoke developed 30 to 40 to 30 20 to 30 1 "His seen that the vapor barrier paper of this invention possesses extremely high fire resistiveness, being comparable with the rock wool bats that were tested alone: For comparison, the

conventional vapor barrier paper mentioned above, namely, consisting of kraft paper imthat such vapor barrier paper constitutes a de-.

'cided fire hazard due to its high degree of combustibility and due to its susceptibility to extremely rapid spread of flame.

A simpler test for determining fire resistiveness of paper products is a modification ofrthat set forth in the report dated January 31, 1944, of the National Bureau of Standards and in the proposed A. S. T. M. Method for Determining Flammability .01 Treated Paper. According to this test, a small sample of paper to be tested, measuring 2 by 8 inches, is inclined at a ,30angle to the vertical above a Tirrell or Bunsen gas burner adjusted to give a 1 inch high yellow flame with the air turned off, the-tip of the flame being inch "from the lower middle portion of the sample to -be tested (2% inches from the lower-most edge of the sample). The flame is applied for 12 sec- ;onds and then removed. Determination is made .of the duration of flame after the burner is extinguished and the area that is severely charred is also noted. The test procedure prescribed by the tip of the flame inch from the lowermost edge of the sample.

Under the test above mentioned, the paper of Example I embodying this invention was virtuall unaffected except for slight blackening immedif ately above the flame. The paper remained continuous and'was only slightly weakened in the area immediately above the tip of the flame. The paper exhibited only slight burning of volatile constituents of the asphalt in the region immediately above the tip of the flame, and whem the flame was removed, further combustion; ceased immediately. There was no spread off flame. The paper of Example II behaved simi-'-- larly except that the coating ofstraight asphalt; on the back melted and drew away from the zone immediately above'the flameexposing the back of the paper which was somewhat more char'redi' than was the case with the paper of Example 1;.- although the vapor barrier paper as a whole re-- mained continuous. All combustion ceased im-- I'nedlately after the flame was removed and there" was no spread of flame. By contrast, a sample of the conventional vapor barrier paper mentioned above when similarly tested was com.- pletely enveloped in flame within only two or three seconds after initial flame exposure and was consumed completely exceptfor those portions confined within the jaws of the clamps used to hold the sample tested in position .over the burner. I Y

It is apparent from the foregoing that according to this invention a coated paper is afforded which, while possessing a very high degree of moisture imperviousness, also is highly flre resistive. Moreover, the vapor barrier paper of this invention has excellent aging properties. The fire resistive properties of the vapor barrier paper of this invention serve to eliminate virtually completely the flre hazard presented by conventional vapor barrier paper. Thus the vapor barrier paper of this invention is extremely resistant to combustion even in an area of direct flame ex posure and is highly resistant to spread of flame from and area of direct flame'exposure. .More+ over, as soon as direct exposure to flame is discontinued, there is virtually immediate extinguishing of further combustion.

While this invention has been described in connection with certain specific examples oi the practice of this invention, it is to be understood that this has been done for illustrative purposes and that the scope of this invention is to be governed by the language of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A flre resistive vapor barrier paper which comprises a flexible paper sheet coated on at least one surface thereof with a coating having a base which consists of bitumen and water-soluble alkali metal silicate and which constitutes from about 70% to about by dry weight of .said coating, said base containing from about which comprises a flexible paper sheet about t 0.003 inch to about 0.01 inch in thickness'coated on at'least one side thereof with a dried coating of emulsion consisting essentially of bitumen emulsified in an aqueous solution of alkali metal silicate containing dissolved humectant consisting essentially of triethyl phosphate, said bitumen and Said alkali metal silicate providing "a 13 base for said coating which constitutes from about 70% to about 95% by dry weight of said coating and of which from about 30% to about 60% by dry weight is bitumen and about 40% to about 70% by dry weight is alkali metal silicate, said bitumen having a softening point of about 100 F. to about 160 F., the ratio of SiOz to alkali metal oxide in said alkali metal silicate being between 1.6:1 and 4:1, said humectant consisting from about 5% to about 30% by dry weight of said coating, and said coating being applied at the rate of about 2 to about pounds per 100 square feet of area.

3. A fire resistive vapor barrier coated paper according to claim 2 wherein said dried coating with which said flexible paper sheet is coated comprises finely-divided filler constituting not more than 10% by dry weight of said coating.

4. A flexible fire resistive vapor barrier paper wherein bitumen, alkali metal sliciate and triethyl phosphate are homogeneously intermingled in a continuous coating layer of substantial thickness applied to at least one surface of a paper sheet, the ratio by dry weight of said alkali metal silicate to said bitumen being between about 2:3

and about 7:3 and said bitumen plus said alkali metal silicate constituting from about 70% to about 95% by dry weight of said coating layer, the ratio by dry weight of said triethyl phosphate to said alkali metal silicate being between about 1:15 and about 1:1 and said triethyl phosphate constituting from about 5% to about by dry weight of said coating layer, said asphalt having a softening point of about 100 F. to about 160 F., and the ratio of SiO: to alkali metal oxide in said alkali metal silicate being about 1.6:1 to about 4:1.

5. A fire resistive vapor barrier paper which comprises a flexible paper sheet coated on at least one side thereof with a dried coating of emulsion consisting essentially of bitumen emulsified in an aqueous solution of alkali metal silicate containing dissolved humectant consisting essentially of triethyl phosphate, the ratio by dry weight of said alkali metal silicate to said bitumen being between about 2:3 and about 7:3 and said alkali metal silicate plus said bitumen constituting from about 80% to about 90% by weight of said coating, the ratio by dry weight of said humectant to said alkali metal silicate being between about 1:5 and about 1:2 and said humectant constituting from about 10% to about 20% by dry weight of said coating, the softening point of said bitumen being about 120 F. to about 140 F., the ratio or SiOz to alkali metal oxide being about 2:1 to about 3.5:1, and said coating being 14 applied at the rate of about 2 to about 10 pounds per 100 square feet of area.

"6. A fire resistive vapor barrier paper according to claim 5 wherein said dried coating with which said flexible paper sheet iscoated comprises finely-divided filler constituting not more than 10% by dry weight of said coating.

7. A method whereby paper is coated to provide a fire resistive vapor barrier which comprises applying as a coating to at least one surface of said paper an aqueous bituminous emulsion wherein bitumen is emulsified in an aqueous solution of alkali metal silicate containing a dissolved humectant consisting essentially of triethyl phosphate and drying said coating, the ratio of said alkali metal silicate to said bitumen by dry weight in said bituminous emulsion being between 2:3 and 7:3, said bitumen plus said alkali metal silicate constituting from about to about by dry weight of the non-volatile components of said emulsion, said humectant constituting from about 5% to about 30% by dry weight of the nonvolatile components of said emulsion, the softening point of said bitumen being about F. to about F., and the ratio of SiOz to alkali metal oxide in said alkali metal silicate being about 1.6:1 to about 4:1.

8. A fire resistive vapor barrier coated paper which comprises a flexible paper sheet about 0.003 inch to about 0.01 inch in thickness coated on at least one side thereof with a dried coating of emulsion consisting essentially of bitumen emulsified in an aqueous solution of alkali metal silicate containing dissolved humectant consisting of triethyl phosphate and at least one of the group of humectants consisting of glycerine, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol and sorbitol, said bitumen and said alkali metal silicate providing a'base for said coating which constitutes from about 7 0 to about 95% by dry weight of said coating and of which from about 30% to about 60% by dry weight is bitumen and about 40% to about 70% by dry weight is alkali metal silicate, said bitumen having a softening point of about 100 F. to about 160 F., the ratio of S102 to alkali metal oxide in said alkali metal silicate being between 1.6:1 and 4:1, said humectant constituting from about 5% to about 30% by dry weight of said coating, and said coating being applied at the rate of about 2 to about 10 pounds per 100 square feet of area.

No references cited. 

1. A FIRE RESISTIVE VAPOR BARRIER PAPER WHICH COMPRISES A FLEXIBLE PAPER SHEET COATED ON AT LEAST ONE SURFACE THEREOF WITH A COATING HAVING A BASE WHICH CONSISTS OF BITUMEN AND WATER-SOLUBLE ALKALI METAL SILICATE AND WHICH CONSISTUTES FROM ABOUT 70% TO ABOUT 95% BY DRY WEIGHT OF SAID COATING, SAID BASE CONTAINING ROM ABOUT 30% TO ABOUT 60% BY DRY WEIGHT OF BITUMEN HAVING A SOFTENING POINT OF THE RANGE 100* F. TO 160* F. AND CONTAINING FROM ABOUT 40% TO ABOUT 70% BY DRY WEIGHT OF ALKALI METAL SILICATE HAVING A RATIO FO SIO2 TO ALKALI METAL OXIDE OF ABOUT 1.6:1 TO ABOUT 4:1, AND SAID COATING CONTAINING FROM ABOUT 5% TO ABOUT 30% BY DRY WEIGHT OF TRIETHYL PHOSPHATE. 